Viavi Solutions took the wraps off of its Osprey GPS Simulator yesterday at the AEA Convention, offering avionics technicians and maintenance facilities a portable solution for GPS testing in hangar environments.

Osprey (operational simulated positioning for real-time evaluation of systems) is designed to address growing challenges in GPS testing as acquiring GPS repeaters becomes more difficult and potential regulatory restrictions loom for the industry. Viavi has positioned the device as a solution for conducting GPS-dependent testing without requiring aircraft to be moved outdoors, saving significant time and resources.

The portable system provides both static waypoints and dynamic routes for avionics testing purposes, with daily almanac data that can be seamlessly uploaded to ensure position lock for GPS receivers. Among its key technical features are an 18-channel configuration, real-time transcoding capabilities, and compatibility with global avionics test sets.

Two configurations are offered for the Osprey system: the single-antenna Osprey-1 and a dual-antenna Osprey-2. Both are self-contained units with remote control interfaces via Apple iOS and Google Android applications.

Viavi highlighted several practical applications for the simulator, including in-hangar simulation of specific locations, enabling safer and more cost-effective pilot training for new equipment installations, testing GPS receiver sensitivity, conducting ADS-B testing, and verifying installation of any component requiring GPS input.